Missed Fists: Lethwei fight ends with ridiculous slam-head butt combo, more

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists, where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where there’s an MMA show every other day.

It’s a relatively light set this time around, which is good because we’ll all be needing our energy for this coming weekend, which features approximately 58 fight cards, give or take.

Soe Win Than vs. Thein Soe

JM: I think we all know that Lethwei is the greatest fighting sport on the planet and there’s no better way to kick off this week than with the opener from last week’s World Lethwei Championship 10 (available on UFC Fight Pass).

Now that’s how you start a fight card/article!

AL: Mercy me, what Soe Win Than did to Thein Soe here has to be F’ing Illegal, doesn’t it?

*checks Lethwei rule book*

It is not, as it turns out, illegal. As usual, Lethwei takes the concept of combat sports and cranks it way past 11.

JM: So what you’re saying is, Lethwei is basically us?

Alex Martinez vs. Anas Siraj Mounir
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Mzwandile Hlongwa
Mohammad Fakhreddine vs. Christofer Silva

AL: There was some serious prospect watching to be had at Brave CF 27 last Friday, starting off with unbeaten Canadian lightweight Alex Martinez improving to 6-0 with this explosive finish of Anas Siraj Mounir.

JM: Look, I know we’re usually all about the good things that happened—i.e. Martinez’s combination—but on this one I have to point out that Mounir really only has himself to blame. He misses his low kick and his body is out of position but instead of keeping his hands up or angling out, he panic-turns away which then opens him up to Martinez’s continuing strikes. Gotta keep them dukes up, my guy.

AL: Also improving to 6-0 was welterweight Khamzat Chimaev, who displayed not just a frightening killer instinct, but some solid sportsmanship as well, easing up on this choke well before the referee officially waved off the proceedings.

JM: Definitely a great showing from Chimaev, especially as Mzwandile Hlongwa was doing a good job of trying to fight it off. But as my jiu-jitsu coach always tells us, “When something gets that far, you’re probably f*cked anyway. The best way to defend that is to not allow it to get that far in the first place.”

You know who else is effed? Christofer Silva, who may not be walking properly for a few weeks.

Low kicks really are the weapons of sadists.

AL: That’s middleweight Mohammad Fakhreddine, who proved once again that anyone who thinks leg kicks don’t win fights is a complete moron. Silva tried to give as good as he got and I can’t remember the last time two guys did a version of stand-and-bang that was primarily leg kicks. Wonderful stuff, gentlemen.

By the way, our own Guilherme Cruz spoke to Brave officials and they informed him that Fakhreddine’s kicks fractured Silva’s tibia. Rough.

You can catch a replay of Brave CF 27 on FITE TV PPV.

Hunter Vaughn vs. Darrin Akers

AL: Also available on FITE TV, Shamrock FC 323, which took place on Saturday. Here, we’re highlighting Hunter Vaughn’s impressive walk-off KO of Darrin Akers.

JM: Look, I don’t want to be the guy harping on the losers here, but Akers was not doing a lot of what could be called “defending”. I’m just not sure what he thought was going to happen other than getting jawed.

AL: At least he seemed to know when he was beat, falling with his arms flailing and giving Vaughn plenty of time to back off and earn some extra style points. So, uh, nice job in that regard.

JM: True enough. And props to Vaughn for the quality self-stoppage. I do so love a good walk-off.

Hope Chase vs. Megan Cawley

JM: ARREST HER FOR THEFT! SHE STOLE MIGHTY MOUSE’S CELEBRATION!!!

AL: Good artists copy, GREAT artists steal!

JM: Alright, Tarantino.

AL: That’s Hope Chase above, making short work of Megan Cawley at Invicta FC 37. Chase came out like a hyper Clay Guida (yes, an even MORE HYPER Clay Guida) right out of the gate and Cawley would have needed a taser to slow her down, not a pair of MMA gloves.

You can check out Chase’s Invicta debut and the rest of last Friday’s show on UFC Fight Pass.

Liliya Shakirova vs. Aygul Kuzu Abduvakhid

JM: Speaking of stealing, Liliya Shakirova just up and took Aygul Kuzu Abduvakhid’s soul right here.

That slam is so disrespectful. She doesn’t even slam her down with her own body, she just tosses Abduvakhid. And then of course we get another episode of “when leglocks go wrong”.

AL: Gorilla Fighting Championship is becoming a mainstay in Missed Fists and it’s because of performances like this one.

Now admittedly, Shakirova (who is rocking a Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things look in her Tapology profile) was essentially given a walkover opponent just to get a title around her waist, but this 8-1 Usbekistanian is still one to watch.

JM: Also at GFC 18 (which is available for free replay on YouTube) something else almost went wrong when Rafael Abrahamyan actually attempted to seriously harm Batuhan Akduman.

There aren’t a lot of family-friendly words to describe this one.

AL: In a bizarre twist, it was later discovered that whoever Abrahamyan was fighting, it wasn’t Akduman. Really, you’ve got to read this story yourself to believe it:

Regardless of the situation, we initially didn’t want to give Abrahamyan any pub for this heinous act, but on occasion we must shine a light on the uglier aspects of our otherwise pristine sport. Finger of shame to him though. I’m not a vengeful sort, let’s hope the MMA Gods reign thunder down upon him in the future.

JM: Screw the MMA gods, let’s hope the commission or the authorities do something. That is clearly above and beyond what... whoever this was signed up for when he agreed to a fight. That was legitimately scary and potentially fatal. No need to ever have someone like Abrahamyan back in the sport.

AL: Nor this poor idiot who stole someone’s identity so they could get into a cagefight.

JM: Truth.

Joey Davis vs. Jeff Peterson

AL: We leave off with a clip from Bellator 229.

Now, it’s normally unnecessary to feature highlights from the UFC or Bellator in these parts, but given last Friday’s insane post-liminary heavy schedule (still scratching my head over this one), there’s a good chance that Joey Davis’s knee knockout of Jeff Peterson flew under the radar.

JM: I don’t know if Davis is going to develop into an actual world-beater of a fighter or if he’s just going to be Michael “Venom” Page 2.0 but I know that I’m excited to watch him. That’s one hell of a highlight right there.

AL: Davis was 133-0 as a Division-II wrestler and now he’s 6-0 as a fighter. Time for this young man to get a step up in competition.

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If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked, or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on Twitter – @JedKMeshew and @AlexanderKLee – using the hashtag #MissedFists.